Black Lives Matter

Will Lightbourne, a longtime director of state and local social services, emerged from retirement last month to become the director of the California Department of Health Care Services – just as record-breaking coronavirus cases tripled in the state.

The Imprint’s reporter Nadra Nittle spoke with Cecily Myart-Cruz about the policing of students and the school-to-prison pipeline as well as systemic racism in the classroom and how educators can make a difference.

It didn’t take George Floyd’s killing at the hands of the police for me to recognize that I have been complicit in state-executed violence against black families. But it did take his murder and the protests that have roiled the nation since to compel me to articulate it, which is shameful.

Dear Black Foster Youth, I’m sure you all have seen the unrest and televised revolution going on across the country and worldwide. The death of Breonna Taylor, George Floyd and Ahmaud Arbery – the last two of which were video recorded, all killed by current or ex-police – has acted as the straw that’s broken the camel’s back.

While a low-grade temblor shook the walls of Los Angeles City Hall on Wednesday night, Mayor Eric Garcetti announced an unprecedented plan to siphon up to $150 million from the Los Angeles Police Department budget as protesters continue to demand transformational policing reform.

Eight years after her 14-year-old cousin was shot and killed by law enforcement during a mental health crisis, Los Angeles youth activist E.V. is closely watching the protests against police brutality that have now gripped every major American city. 

Jha’asryel-Akquil Bishop, 24, was born and raised in Guyana, where they were an ambassador for the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport. In 2015, they attended the seventh Summit of the Americas in Panama City.